Governor Alex Otti has said that reviving moribund industries in Abia State forms a key part of his administration’s strategy for job creation and the reduction of insecurity.
Governor Otti stated this on Friday at Nvosi Isialangwa South LGA, while receiving the management team of Nepal Energies, which has expressed interest in managing Afro Beverages.
Afro Beverages is one of several moribund industries recently reacquired by the Abia State Government from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria as part of efforts to restore industrial activities and stimulate economic growth.
The Governor said that beyond economic benefits, the reopening of such industries would help tackle unemployment, which he described as a major driver of crime and criminality.
“Because you talked about job creation, that’s also where I am focused. I have always maintained that insecurity is enabled by unemployment.
“The more people that you take out of the employment line, the fewer the number of people available for crime and criminality”, he said.
Governor Otti explained that although the State Government had taken steps to reacquire some distressed industrial assets, it did not intend to run them directly but would instead partner credible private investors capable of reviving them sustainably.
“Like I announced sometime in the past, the reason for the acquisition is not for us to go in and run it, as government, we know where our limits are.
“It is said that government has no business in business, but it’s not true; government does have business in business, but the government would look at where its efficiency is. It is not in management.
“That is why even for Star Paper, we are still discussing, but we don’t want the story to happen a second time.
“It would be a disaster after the original visionaries set it up, passed it on, and then it was ran aground, and we rescued it, and somebody else comes and runs it aground again.
“So that is why we are very meticulous and we are very careful in bringing investors into those organisations.
“It must be people who have the capacity, who have the capital, the competence, the skills to run them. So for us, what would be very critical is the capacity to manage”, the Governor said.
He also commended the organisation for initiating an industrial project in Ukwa West Local Government Area and for its involvement in Plaster of Paris (POP) cement production in Aba, with plans to expand output from 200 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes.
He urged the investors to submit a detailed proposal to the State Government for consideration, assuring them that the government would review it promptly.
Earlier, the Managing Director of Nepal Energies, Mrs Ngozi Ekeoma, said the company was ready to partner the Abia State Government to revive Afro Beverages and expand its investments across the State.
Mrs Ekeoma said the company, which operates in the downstream oil and gas sector, had also diversified into non-oil ventures, including a detergent manufacturing plant currently under construction in Ukwa West Local Government Area.
She said the four-tonne-per-hour detergent production facility was expected to be completed and commissioned before the end of the year.
According to her, improved power supply in Aba has created a more favourable environment for industrial activities which has encouraged the company to explore further investment opportunities in the State.
Mrs Ekeoma added that Nepal Group had also partnered another firm involved in POP cement production in Abia, which currently produces about 200 tonnes per day but plans to scale up production to 1,500 tonnes within the next 18 months.
“So we have come to partner with the state to get one of the industries that is in Abia, that is currently being owned by Abia State Government.
“We think it’s something that we can revive, revamp, and put it back in a state that it should be”, she said.
Mrs Ekeoma noted that the planned investments were aimed at creating employment opportunities and contributing to the economic development of the State.
